Heart Healthy

After a routine physical a few weeks ago, Michael found out that he has high cholesterol.  It runs in the family, but we had hoped with our (for the most part) healthy eating that he could avoid this diagnosis.  Negative.  So...even though our meals already consist of whole foods, fruits, and veggies we have 3 months to naturally decrease his cholesterol level.  We're doing our best to avoid medication, so we've gone all in to heart healthy eating.  Bye-bye Benton's bacon, Applegate pepperoni, eggs, cheese, and a few other favorites.  BUT hello new recipes and even healthier eating for all four of us :)

Oddly enough, our 'snowed in' week hit at the perfect time.  I had researched cholesterol friendly/free snacks and meal recipes and stocked up at the grocery the day before our winter storm.  We have eaten EVERY meal in for 10 days (minus a DD man club breakfast on Friday for the boys) - breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.  Not even a Starbucks, drive-thru, or convenience store drink.  That may be the norm for you, but for our family this is huge!  Not only has it been wonderful for our budget, but our forced week at home provided time to create new routines and eating habits.  

Here's a bit of our new meal plan and a few delicious dinner recipes we tried...

Breakfast:

* Homemade oatmeal has replaced a quick bowl of cereal - combine 1/3 c. rolled oats with 3/4 c. water in a saucepan.  Add in 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and chopped fruit of choice (usually apples).  Stir until creamy then spoon into a bowl and sweeten with a Tbsp. of raw honey.  We also love this Apple Pie Oatmeal.

* Oatmeal is paired with a smoothie of some kind.  Thanks to Laura letting us borrow her NutriBullet, we've become smoothie addicts overnight :)  The usual is a cup of spinach or kale, frozen organic strawberries/blueberries, sliced banana, chia/flax seeds, and unsweetened almond milk.  I've found a few other delicious recipes as well (thank you Pinterest!) and have made 'baggie smoothies'.  Placing the ingredients in ziploc bags (all but the milk) and freezing them allows for us to grab and make in record time...especially on busy work/church mornings.

* We've also made breakfast 'cookies' (banana oat recipe here) which are great for an on-the-go meal or an afternoon snack. 

Lunch:

* Lots of spinach/kale salads with raw veggies and balsamic dressing, homemade tuna salad wrapped in bib lettuce, turkey/avocado sandwiches, and dinner leftovers.

Snacks:

* Raw nuts, pita chips or raw veggies w/ hummus, organic Greek yogurt (gotta check the labels for fat content) with granola and raw honey, or a small smoothie.

Dinner: 

* This was the easiest transition, because not much had to change.  Substituting lower fat content meats or eliminating them all together was our family's main concern.  We already roast lots of veggies and try to eat whole food recipes.  Here are a few new things that I made - ALL three boys gave them 2 thumbs up...

Thai Chicken Crunch Wraps - Delicious!!!  I did have a few whole wheat tortillas, but this was yummy 

wrapped in bib lettuce as well.

Edamame Power Salad - I added some grilled chicken to make this a substantial dinner meal.

Lentil and Bulgur Soup - paired with rustic bread/olive oil 

Italian Orzo Spinach Soup - this was yummy as is, BUT had we not been watching our fat content, I would have added in some kielbasa or smoked sausage.

All of this coupled with a more routine exercise regimen should hopefully bring his cholesterol back to a safe range and create healthy hearts for all of us in the meantime :)  If you have any natural tips, tricks, or recipes to try, I'd love to hear about them!